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April 3
1800s 1900s *1901 - Connie Mack accuses Christy Mathewson of reneging on a Philadelphia Athletics contract signed in January. Mathewson had accepted advance money from Mack, but jumped back to the New York Giants in March. Mack considers going to court, but eventually accepts the loss of the young pitcher. *1902 - The National League names club owners Arthur Soden, John T. Brush, and James Hart as an interim committee to run the league. 1910s *1919 - One of the most bizarre off-the-field incidents in baseball history takes place in Jacksonville, Florida. New York Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie competes against an ostrich named “Percy” in a spaghetti eating contest! Bodie wins the competition when Percy passes out after his 11th plate of pasta. 1920s *1923 - In Chicago, two Black Sox sue the White Sox. Swede Risberg and Happy Felsch seek $400,000 damages and $6,750 in back salary for conspiracy and injury to reputation in the aftermath of the scandalous 1919 World Series court case. Their suit will be unsuccessful. 1930s *1938 - Goose Goslin returns to the Washington Senators for his third stint with the team. Goslin, who had batted a career-low .238 in 1937, had been released by the Detroit Tigers. 1940s 1950s *1950 - Considered a well-guarded secret, Mel Parnell reveals he pitched all but three of his 39 games with a sore elbow last season. The 27-year 'Dusty' finished the season with a 25-7 record and a 2.77 ERA for the second-place Boston Red Sox. 1960s *1960 - The Baltimore Orioles trade second baseman Billy Gardner to the Washington Senators in exchange for catcher Clint Courtney and shortstop Ron Samford. *1961 - Connie Mack Stadium (formerly known as Shibe Park) is sold and will be torn down after the 1963 season to make room for bowling alleys. *1964 - At spring training, New York Mets pitcher Carl Willey suffers a broken jaw when he is hit by a line drive batted by Detroit Tigers outfielder Gates Brown]] during a spring training loss. Willey will be out until June 6th but his career will be effectively ended. *1966 - The New York Mets sign University of Southern California star Tom Seaver to his first contract, including a $50,000 bonus. Seaver had been selected by the Atlanta Braves in the January draft, but Commissioner Spike Eckert voided the deal when he signed a contract after USC’s season had already begun. The Mets beat out the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies in a lottery for Seaver’s services. *1969 - First baseman Donn Clendenon ends his retirement and reports to the Montreal Expos. Clendenon will eventually be traded twice during the season, first to the Houston Astros and then to the New York Mets. Clendenon will hit 12 home runs for the Mets and help them win the World Series, 1970s *1974 - The Los Angeles Dodgers make one of the best trades in franchise history, acquiring minor league infielder/outfielder Pedro Guerrero from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Bruce Ellingsen. The 17-year-old Guerrero will make his major league debut in 1978 and will compile 100-RBI seasons for the Dodgers in 1982 and ‘83. *1976 - Angels outfielder Bobby Bonds suffers a fractured finger during an exhibition game with the Dodgers. After 99 painful games, Bonds will have surgery on August 9. 1980s *1984: **Arbitrator Richard Bloch rules that the Royals Willie Wilson and the Mets Jerry Martin can return to action on May 15, the day their year-long suspensions are first due to be reviewed. **After rain washes out yesterday's opener at Royals Stadium, Yul Brynner tosses out the first ball and Kansas City opens with a 4–2 win over the Yankees. The threat of snow holds the crowd to just 10,006. Starter Bud Black, with relief help from Dan Quisenberry, tops Ron Guidry, still winless in Openers. Onix Concepción hits Guidry's first pitch of the game for a home run, while Dave Winfield has a two-run homer for the Yankees. *1986 - Pedro Guerrero, the Dodgers most productive hitter, ruptures a tendon in his left knee while sliding into third base in an exhibition game. Guerrero will be sidelined for at least three months and not have his first hit until September. *1985 - A major league owners' proposal is agreed to by the Players Association. The American and National leagues playoff formats are changed to best-of-seven formats. The League Championship Series had been played as a best-of-five since its inception in 1969. *1987 - The Chicago Cubs trade starting pitcher Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland Athletics for three minor leaguers. Eckersley will emerge as the game’s dominant closer, saving 291 games over the next eight seasons. *1989: **At Shea Stadium, the New York Mets win their 11th consecutive home opener, an 8–4 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets have now won on Opening Day in 18 of the last 20 seasons. **Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Seattle Mariners makes his major league debut. The rookie outfielder hits a double in his first at-bat against Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics. 1990s *1991: **Nolan Ryan and his son, Reid, pitch against each other as the Rangers take on the University of Texas at Austin. Reid, a 19-year-old freshman, gives up four runs in two innings, and is down 4–1 to his father when he leaves the game. Nolan gives up five hits, three runs, and strikes out seven in five innings, as the Rangers win 12–5. **The Chicago White Sox sign injured free agent outfielder Bo Jackson to a one-year contract worth $700,000. The Kansas City Royals had released Jackson on March 15, citing his inability to play baseball due to a football-related hip injury. *1992 - The Red Sox conclude 27 years of spring training at Winter Haven, Florida, by beating the Tigers, 14–4. *1993 - The Colorado Rockies sign free agent veteran Dale Murphy. The two-time National League MVP will hit just .143 in 26 games for the Rockies. *1994 - In the first Sunday night major league season opener, St. Louis Cardinals OF Ray Lankford hits a home run as the first batter of the 1994 season. St. Louis goes on the defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4, with Bob Tewksbury gaining the win. *1996 - Saint Francis College sets 71 NCAA records with a 71–1, four-inning defeat of Robert Morris College. The Fighting Saints score 26 runs in the first inning, 22 more in the second, four in the third and 19 in the fourth, collecting 44 hits along the way. First baseman Brian Mazurek hits for the cycle, while freshman shortstop Mike Palermo ties an NAIA record with seven hits. Left fielder Mike Holcomb sets a NCAA mark with nine runs scored. *1997 - Pitcher Jimmy Key makes his debut with the Orioles beating the Royals, 4–2, to run his opening day record to 7–0, the best ever. Previously, Key won three with the Yankees and three with the Blue Jays. *1998: **Milwaukee Brewers SS José Valentín strokes three home runs, and drives in five runs, to lead Milwaukee to a 7–1 victory over the Florida Marlins. **Just four days after being obtained in a trade with Cleveland, Reds 1B Sean Casey is hit in the eye with a ball thrown by Damian Jackson during batting practice. His eye orbit is fractured, and will require surgery on April 8. 2000s *2000: **Andrés Galarraga hit a home run in his first game back after missing the entire 1999 season following cancer surgery as the Braves defeat the Rockies, 2–0. **A new major league record for Opening Day is set with five players having multiple home run games: ::Gabe Kapler becomes the first player to hit home runs in his first two at-bats on a Texas Rangers uniform and his teammate Iván Rodríguez also hits a pair of homers in a 10–4 Texas victory against the Chicago White Sox. ::Vladimir Guerrero hits a pair of homers for the Montreal Expos but the Dodgers defeat Montreal, 10–4, behind Eric Karros' grand slam. ::Jason Giambi of the Oakland Athletics hits two home runs against the Detroit Tigers. Despite Giambi's effort, Detroit edge the Athletics 7–4. *2002: **The Giants defeat the Dodgers, 12–0, as Barry Bonds hits a pair of home runs for the second day in a row. He becomes only the second player in major league history to begin a season with a pair of 2–HR games. Eddie Mathews was the other. **At McAfee Coliseum, the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland Athletics, 9–6. The loss snaps the Athletics strong of 20 straight wins at home stretching back to August 24. Oakland move past the 1974–75 Cincinnati Reds for most consecutive home wins over two seasons. The Reds' mark was 17. *2003 - At 27 years, 249 days of age, Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest player in major league history to hit 300 home runs. The Texas Rangers shortstop's fifth inning three-run blast surpasses Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx's mark who had accomplished the feat at 27 years, 328 days of age. *2005: **In his first outing for the New York Yankees, Randy Johnson allows a run and five hits in six innings as New York open the 2005 major league season with a 9–2 triumph over the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. **Alex Sánchez becomes the first major leaguer to be publicly identified under baseball’s new steroid policy. The Tampa Bay outfielder will be suspended for 10 days for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. *2006: **The Chicago Cubs rolled to its fourth straight opening day victory, 16–7, over a Cincinnati Reds team that could bring the president to town but couldn't stop the Cubs' run of first-game success. US President George W. Bush threw a ceremonial pitch at the invitation of new Reds owner Bob Castellini, one of his former ownership partners in the Texas Rangers. No current president had ever thrown an opening day pitch in Cincinnati. **At Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Curt Schilling struck out five and allowed two runs over seven strong innings and David Ortiz was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI as the Boston Red Sox won on Opening Day for the first time since 2000 with a 7–3 victory over the Texas Rangers. **At Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners rookie Kenji Johjima, the first catcher from Japan to start a major league game, hit a home run for his first hit in Seattle's 5–4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Births *1856 - Guy Hecker, pitcher (d. 1938) *1919 - Larry Shepard, manager *1926 - Alex Grammas, player and manager *1929 - Art Ditmar, pitcher *1930 - Wally Moon, All-Star outfielder *1939 - Hawk Taylor, catcher *1943 - Barry Moore, pitcher *1946 - Rod Gaspar, outfielder *1956 - Darrell Jackson, pitcher *1958 - Gary Pettis, outfielder *1960 - Tim Conroy, pitcher *1961 - Tim Crews, pitcher (d. 1993) *1962 - Dave Miley, manager *1963 - Chris Bosio, pitcher *1967 - Miguel García, pitcher *1967 - Danilo León, pitcher *1968 - Mike Lansing, infielder *1971 - Quilvio Veras, infielder *1978 - Bobby Hill, infielder *1981 - Ryan Doumit, catcher Deaths *1952 - Dick Harley, outfielder (b. 1872) *1952 - Phenomenal Smith, pitcher (b. 1864) *1953 - Larry Benton, pitcher (b. 1897 *1972 - Alvin Crowder, All-Star pitcher (b. 1899) *1979 - Harry Simpson, All-Star outfielder (b. 1924) *1983 - Mickey Livingston, catcher (b. 1914)